...to be continued

My friends, being sick this week has drained me physically, emotionally and spiritually. I had a very hard week and very few people took any care of any of my needs(there were a few exceptions). As a result I am very weary. I have been told that I will not have internet access for 4 weeks, but I have been misinformed before. Actually I have not been informed of almost anything about Tonga. I am sorry that I can not give you any more details. Truly sorry. I can not emphasize how much I will be needing prayer. This last week was extremly difficult for me and my for my friend Samantha. She has been my only friend on this outreach and in Tonga we are going to different places....I believe my leaders did this intentionally. They do not want us together because we were the two under the strongest spiritual attack and in their judgment separating us will make it less vulnerable....if it was just mosquito bites and cannibals, I would not be in such despair, but why do I always get in situations where I feel betrayed? MY friends, how I long just for a simple hug or a smile from you! Tears fall as I write. My heart longs for home, but who am I to disobey God? If I don't update my blog before next Saturday, do not plan on an update before May 9th. I love you all and thank you for being a part of my life and my adventures.

And then there were 3...

I found out last night that our team is going to be splitting up into 3 different teams in Tonga. We will have 2 leaders and 3 teams. So for the 3 1/2 weeks in Tonga one of the teams will not have a leader. There will be one team on the main island at the main base (working with media like tv/radio)....and will have internet access. The other two teams will be in the outer islands doing who knows what with likely no internet access for the whole time...and MAYBE we'll have electricity. My leaders are being very cryptic about it. They didn't even tell us about the main island....someone else did accidently not knowing that we hadn't been told. For some reason they do not want to keep us informed, but would prefer to keep us in the dark. The unity of our team is still weak, and I hope and pray that our unity will be strengthened by having smaller teams in Tonga.

On the upside, my pink eye is getting better and I am feeling better. I should be better before I leave for Tonga. Please pray for me where I should go. God doesn't need all the details to speak...but it does help me...so if you hear something email me so as to hopefully confirm where I should go. I would really appreciate it.

Fiji pics

Let me know if this link doesn't work...here are a few pics from Fiji...when I have time I'll explain them.

http://wwu.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2020116&l=266f6&id=25902808

My favorite color....PINK!!!

This weekend we went to a very fun church and the preachers were very animated, charismatic and lively! My eyes started itching sunday morning...as I itched them, they got worse...I didn't think anything of it...then my right eye was getting swollen, so I went to see the doctor I went to the medical clinic with last week. She said it is pink eye...when I woke up monday, my eye was so swollen I couldn't open it. I got some eye drops and my eyes got worse...I then found out I needed to clean my eyes out before I put my drops in every 3 hours... My bad eye was better this morning, but my good eye is WAY worse...so my headache and light sensativity make me want to be alone in the dark...I always wear my sunglasses now. PLEASE pray for the health of our group. A few people now have pink eye(I am lucky enough to claim the worst case), and a lot of people have the flu and the runs. There is a lot of disunity and disorganization in our group...we really need prayer for a oneness in our group...it's not preventing us to minister effectively, but it is certainly hindering us. We are under spiritual attack for sure! So this also encourages us to know that we are worth attacking, but we need your help in prayer! Thank you all for your prayers!

Richard from Suva

I was walking from town saturday(getting apples and popsicles for the sick people) and someone called me over and asked if I was a part of marine reach.(the place we're staying) I explained what I was doig in Fiji. He immediately asked me "Will you teach me the bible?" I had been given strict instructions to come right back from the market for our team eeting, so I told him I'd be back in an hour. We didn't even have a team meeting, so I prayed and went to meet him with SunAwh(one of the leaders) and we talked with him. It was really cool. He was raised hindu, and converted to mormanism. His parents disowned him and he went to Utah for 2 years on his mission. He searched and found Jesus, so he went home (north of Lautoka), then he lost his only F$20 to get back to Suva, where he had been living...he was looking for a church and wanted to know the bible since the mormans didn't give him one. So we read John 15 and I explained it as we went along, and he just kept asking for more bible verses...he was very hungry for the word, then he told us that the bus was leaving soon, and asked us for a little money. I went back to the base and SunAwh read something out of James, so I gave him my last F$50. ($30) I felt like God really was telling me that he wanted him to have a bible in words he understood. He only makes $30 each week as a waiter, so he said he could save F$10 for 2 weeks and get a hindi/english translation so he can learn english too. It really felt like the right thing to do...and I feel like I blessed a brother! So for those of you who felt that the little money you gave me didn't matter, that $30 meant a lot more to Richard than I would have ever guessed.

Construction

Today I joined the construction team and we were sad that we had to leave the job without finishing. There was quite a difference in opinion in how to put the roof on and as a result, we humbly said we were not able to finish the project the way they wanted it done. The rain came and just dumped buckets...it was really warm, but we were soaking wet. We walked for quite a while before we caught the bus. This weekend we will have 2-4 productions at different places. Pray that we are available for God to use us in mighty ways.

Sanbeto

Today we walked around Sanbeto(maybe misspelled). Most of the people weren't home, but it was still a good experience praying for people. Afterwards we ate lunch at a family of the church we're working with this week and they made us amazing indian food(being indians). It was delicious! I climbed up part of a coconut tree because someone wanted one, but I came down because I knew my mom would have flipped if she heard I fell from a coconut tree...so don't worry mom, I'm being safe. But please keep praying for our team! I will update this blog every time I'm online.

Joel

Medical Clinic

Today I went to a village about an hour and a half away from our base here in Lautoka and helped with a medical clinic. We distributed medicine and a team of 3 of us walked around praying for people. It was really good for us to see God moving in the hearts of people. One older man accepted Jesus as his saviour, and one of the ladies working at the clinic had been witnessing to him for years and years, and after talking and praying for a little while, he decided it was exactly what he needed!

One thing I have noticed about the people here is their love for everyone. Wherever you go, you are welcomed with open ears and usually a cup of tea. If you complement somone of a painting on their wall, most of the time they will take it off their wall and give it to you. If you are staying at their house, they will sleep on the floor and give you their bed. They honor their guests in a way I have never seen before. Even when people know about Jesus and disbelieve, they will still welcome you into their house and accept prayer most of the time. All they ask for in return is respect.

My time is about up in the computer lab, but if you didn't get my email I sent out(and i 'm sure there are a lot of you who I missed), email me at joeloliver@gmail.com and I will send you a copy. I will be sending out an email at the begining and end of my stay at each place(hopefully).

BULA!!!

I MADE IT!!! I arrived safely. I need to send out a mass email telling people that. But for now, you get the brief version(probably more fun to read anyways.) We left Honolulu Sunday night at about 12:30am and flew all night through the roughest turbulance I've ever felt. Ethan(a 3 year old on our team) was sleeping in the seat next to me(and on my lap at times) and flew in the air at one point. We stopped in Samoa to refuel and arrived here went straight to our home base. We are staying in a building that is completely vacant, but 3 stories tall, and the ministry is called Marine Reach. We are about a 5 minute walk from town.

After we got here, we did some team time (which takes so long because our team is so big - 26) and then went to buy a lava lava (a long skirt with pockets...all the guys need them). We basically did nothing at all the first day and recouped from the trip. We sang worship songs on the roof and watched the sunset and the stars from there while singing. It was basically amazing. The weather changes rapidly and the humidity is always high so far. The first day people said it felt like it was 100 degrees. I would say at night it drops to the upper 70s. We get some rain briefly, but when it rains...it RAINS. Every night so far we have had lightning storms and the thunder is loud in the afternoon.

Prices here change frequently and vary greatly in prices. It is definately a barter economy, but not at all like Mexico. Internet costs from F$1- F$3 an hour...the lab i'm in now supposedly costs F$6 an hour, but they're having a F$1 special.

The internet here is really slow! It took me over 10 minutes just to open Gmail, but I figured it out. ALL the computers run on the same internet feed. There are only 3 people in here now and it's okay. So I need to check my email at times when the labs are empty(like 8am on saturday)

I will post pictures when I can. If you could pray, pray for team unity and communication(due to our huge team, it has led to miscommunication and frustrations). Our ministry here is based on prayer. Most of what we do is walk around the "villages" (which are not like I pictured Fijian villages to be like.) and talk about "the word of God". We have a translator and they just put us on the spot and said "Go ahead"...It was scary for us all, but we now know what we'll be doing from now on. Outside the city(where we live) is village after village after village. There really isn't a break. But the churches we've been helping out are tiny and need lots of work.

That's all for now. The computer lab is getting really hot. Send my love to everyone. I will be checking my email 1-2 times a week...but if it's slow I won't be able to reply...but know that I read every email and will reply when I have time. I love you all!

Leaving on a Jetplane...

Today we leave for the airport tonight at 4:30...which means we show up to the vans at 4:35 and we leave at 5:00. However, if you want to know my flight plans over the next few months, here is my itenerary...well a brief version.

March 26 7:38pm hawaiian flight307 hawaiian
March 27 12:35am air pacific flight 821
April 18th 8:00am air pacific flight 211
May 9th 11:20am air pacific flight 210
May 11th 9:30pm air pacific flight 511
June 13th 4:05pm air pacific flight 260
July 18th 11:59pm air pacific flight 822

I just passed my roomcheck so now all I need to do is finish packing up everything, take my last shower in who knows how long, and call home(no, mom, I didn't forget)...Less than 1 hour til I leave for the airport....pray for me! I will keep you all updated as much as possible.

Saying Goodbye

Today the majority of everyone leaves for their trips all over the world. One team left tuesday, two left wednesday, one leaves tomorrow, my team leaves sunday, and everyone else leaves today(none of the teams are bigger than 20 besides mine). So we have dozens of teams leaving today....very emotional. Excited that they're off to change the world, sad that I will never see them again. Pray for safety for everyone. (oh and pray that I can get my tooth fixed before I leave)

So soon...

I can't believe we're leaving so soon...Today we were commissioned by Darlene Cunningham she talked about the pile of stones that the Israelites left after crossing the river jordan. What we need are these stones. We need to remember what God has done in the past in order to keep our faith alive. She told a story at the begining of YWAM and how her and Loren needed $500 in a matter of hours, and it was totally unexpected. She prayed "Lord I believe, help me overcome my disbelief." A contractor came over and gave them the $500 specifically because he felt that God told him to do so that morning. So this was one of the first stones in her life....she walks around campus saying "Lord, I remember the $500." When God does things in our life, we need to be thankful and remember. So her charge for us as we leave is to write down and pile stones as a reminder for our future and for future generations.

Jeremy West

The speaker this week is talking about the Cost of Discipleship. He is very passionate and dedicated to what he speaks about. Yesterday he talked about what it means to be a disciple of Christ. He defines sin as an act of rebellion to God. He went over the steps of discipleship today. The five steps he used in class are
1) submission to God
2) Identity in Christ
3) Commitment to Christ (not just believing, but being unswervingly committed)
4) Love...(how God loves us unconditionally and he just wants us to love him back. If we don't love God, we turn our relationship into religion)
5) Obedience to God (Christ demonstrated this in his obedience to die for us)

...and I would drive 500 more!

This weekend I rented a dodge neon and I had another good weekend! Friday a group of us rented kayaks and went out to Captain Cook's monument and snorkeled (I'll try and get pics later...I didn't want my digital camera to get damaged in the kayak). Saturday after I did my chore, 6 of us drove 2 1/2 hours to the volcano and hiked 2 miles and waited for dark, but we didn't see too much of a glow. We were about a mile away(as close as we could safely get), so it was a fun hike, fun people, but I sill want to see lava better. The internet is slow, so I'll try and upload pictures later. Sunday a group of us drove around the whole island and stopped at rainbow falls, hilo(where I bought a pink american eagle shirt...$4), puna for hot springs, south point in attempts to see the sunset(too many clouds), then back to campus....6 hours driving at least...but fun. We ended up driving 651.5 miles! It was so much fun!

Just Another Update...

I have been told a few new details, so I would like to pass the information. First, the official date that we are leaving for Fiji is March 26th. We will be staying at the Fiji YWAM base and most likely taking trips for a couple days to the villages. Tonga will be next and apparently we will be doing pioneering type of ministry...not sure what that means, but sounds like fun! Vanuatu, there are 2 YWAM bases that we will stay at and we will be there during their country's 400th anniversary. Not sure what we will be doing there, but then we'll go back to Fiji and be back to Kona July 20th for debriefing. In class we have been starting to learn more about prayer, worship, language(what not to do an say also), and the like.

Thank you all for your notes, emails, letters, packages, prayers, support, and just being a part of my life and my adventures! I would love to talk to all of you before I leave for Fiji, but in case I don't, know that I love you!

Pictures

I posted 60 pictures...I think you can flip through them...let me know if they work.

http://wwu.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2017161&l=edfae&id=25902808

Jeep Adventure

WOW...Quite the weekend! I rented a Jeep from 8am Saturday until 8am Monday...and boy did I get my money's worth! I started with 3 of the guys who are going on outreach with me and we went to southpoint, then drove the 4WD road to the green sands beach where we saw a mother humpback whale teaching her baby how to breach! I couldn't get a picture though. We then went to a beach called road to the sea and it was a black and green sands beach. We jumped into the sand because it was so soft. We had some good pre-outreach bonding.

We returned about 4:30 and I ate dinner, and grabbed 4 more of my friends, and we drove to a beach called Makalawena which is a rugged off-road to the most beautiful beach I have seen on this island! Sand so soft and fine as powder! We got there just in time for the sunset(amazing!) and we camped overnight(pic of the jeep and tent), had a bonfire(Min had never had smores before!), then in the morning we went and swam at the beach(just 5 minute walk away) Then we packed up and we made it back to campus at noon.

I showered, repacked and grabbed two of my roomates and two of the girls going on outreach with me and we went to turtle beach where the top of the water was cold ocean water(about 65 degrees) and then there was a hot underwater stream flowing and the deeper you got the warmer it was. So about 6 feet under the water was about 85 degrees. SO warm! Beautiful too. After we hiked back to the jeep and went up to Mauna Kea. Our goal was to watch the sunset...we had to layer up and by the time we made it to the top of the mountain, we missed the sunset by about 15 minutes. We stayed and watched stars and left for campus at 10pm. We returned to campus at about midnight and we decided that since we had the vehicle, we would go back for sunrise. So we went to denny's and ate breakfast at about 1:00am and then we drove back up mauna kea and waited for sunrise. It was SOOO beautiful.

We returned the jeep a little after 8am monday and we hitchhiked back. I drove over 500 miles in the jeep and Took over 400 pictures. It was the most amazing weekend ever! I wish I could post like 50 pictures, and still it would not do justice to the beauty and the adventure I went on. So I've been spending quite a bit of time catching up on sleep, prayer, and the like this week. So sorry for the delay in this update and my emails and phone calls. I love you all!

Toothache!!!

I want to ask for a little more prayer. I have a pretty bad toothache and most likely I will have to have aroot canal. I do not know a dentist here nor do I have the money to pay for it. So pray that I find a good dentist and that it wont' be too much money.

Funny story

A little while ago there was a small group here that went downtown to play volleyball. However there was a miscommunication and nobody brought a ball. So they decided to play imaginary volleyball. The locals surrounded the court because they wondered what was going on. Pretty soon there was a decent amount of people around the court as if they were watching a very interesting game. About 20 or 30 minutes into this game, one of the teenage girls ran through the court and decided to steal the ball.(the invisible ball I might add) Dumbfounded at the fact that some girl just stole an invisible ball, it took about 10 seconds before they chased after her...the locals found this hillarious before someone donated another invisible ball to keep playing. After about an hour of invisible volleyball, they came back to campus. I think I need to join them for volleyball more often.

PRAISE REPORT!!!

Last week I found out that I was $4000 short for outreach. I received all but $2500 by thursday from all of you(so thank you SOO much) however, I was still missing that chunk. Now on our outreach, there are 24 people, and 4 married couples, so our leaders made us 4 families of 6 people. My outreach parents came to me and said that whatever amount I did not raise, they would cover!!! I was astonished!!! (I still am) I do not know if any of you have sent money since then, or were planning on sending money, I told them that I would give them whatever money that I received from here on(unless those who give specify that it is money for outreach supplies or spending money). I thank you all for your prayers and support(in every way from finances to cookies to cards)!!! It has meant more to me than I can express! YOU are my miracle.